A CHARITY bike ride has managed to raise more than £8,000 for a local hospice.

The children of Ted Jewitt – who in the 1940s would cycle to Salford every fortnight to see his future wife – presented the cheque to St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston on Saturday.

Setting a target of £5,000, a 15-strong team completed the epic 174 miles to and from Salford in July, in tribute to Ted’s fortnightly trek. The cyclists have been praised by staff at the hospice for raising £8,512.

St Mary’s marketing co-ordinator, Sarah Simpson, said: “We are truly overwhelmed by how as a family they have all come together to do this to remember Joyce and Ted.

“It is such a heartwarming story.

“On the day they did the bike ride you could really sense the family spirit.

“For us, the amount they have raised is absolutely incredible and makes a big difference. It means that we can continue to do what we do but, more importantly, means we can reach more people.

“Because the hospice is only 20 per cent funded by the NHS, we need to raise more than £2.6m a year to provide our services free to everyone. Without people like this, the hospice couldn’t survive.”


TRIBUTE Joyce and Ted Jewitt on their wedding day in July 1949 SUBMITTED Mr Jewitt, of Ulverston, met Joyce on a blind date at the Roxy Cinema while Joyce was visiting from her wartime home in Blackpool.

After the Second World War ended, Joyce returned to her hometown of Salford but Mr Jewitt kept their courtship alive by cycling the 87 miles from Cumbria and back to see her every fortnight.

After three years of pedalling, the couple eventually married and enjoyed 65 years as husband and wife before they died just three weeks apart at the end of last year.
PRESENTATION Family and friends watch as Carole Leech hands over the cheque to Bob Qazi from St Mary’s Hospice MILTON HAWORTH

Youngest child of Ted and Joyce, Carole Leech, said: “It has been a long journey, but it has been really good and everyone has been fantastic. I am immensely proud of everyone who did the bike ride. It is just unbelievable and the response we have had from people in Ulverston is brilliant.”

Broken down, the money raised for the hospice means that it can provide 964 meals for patients, cover the petrol for more than 5,000 hospice at home visits or pay for 104 therapy treatment sessions.